


All is Dark, All is White

by elleavantemm



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-12
Updated: 2012-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-29 09:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,873
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/318544
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elleavantemm/pseuds/elleavantemm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When the power goes out due to heavy snow fall, Sally and Une take the opportunity to share a romantic evening in front of the fire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	All is Dark, All is White

**Author's Note:**

> This story was written for the prompt "power outage" for the winter round of the livejournal Advent Challenge.

The snow had been falling all day, tiny flakes drifting lazily down, melting on contact and making the roads wet and slippery. As the day progressed, the flakes grew fatter, fell slower, until they collected in thick blankets on windshields, mail boxes, lawns and sidewalks. Before long, snow covered everything, sidewalks no longer visible but through the deep footprints of pedestrians as they pushed through the changing weather.

Sally Po sat in her car in the Preventers parking garage, heat running on high to combat the winter chill that seemed to seep into everything. She rubbed her fingers together, blowing air across her knuckles as she shivered impatiently. The snow beyond the parking garage was falling so heavy that she could barely see through the flakes. “I am not looking forward to the drive home,” she said wryly, sighing in relief when the heat finally managed to disperse the cold.

Carefully she manoeuvred her car through the parkade and out onto the street. Traffic moved slowly along the slick city streets and Sally sighed heavily. Usually she loved the snow; but after being stationed in warmer climates during her time in the military, her appreciation for it had severely diminished. She turned on her indicator before turning right. Her fingers clutched the wheel as the car swerved unexpectedly. “Jesus Christ!” she swore. Taking a moment to catch her breath she wondered if this crap heap even had snow tires on it. Several cars behind her honked unhelpfully and after a moment of trying to restart the engine, she pulled over onto the side of the road, pulling her phone from her purse and pressing speed-1.

“Sally?”

“Have you seen the weather outside?” she replied without preamble.

“I have. It’s coming down really hard, isn’t it? Is everything okay? Are you okay?”

Sally laughed softly. “Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bit of a scare is all. How are things at home?”

“It’s almost a livable space again. The tree should be set up by the time you get here, I imagine.”

“That’s good.” Sally checked the traffic around her, frowning at the snow still falling heavily. “Have you heard from anyone yet?”

There was a dull thump followed by an _ouch_ before the reply. “I heard from Trowa and Quatre just a little while ago, maybe an hour. Heero called this morning, shortly after you left for the office. Other than that, no.”

“Okay. Well, I should be home soon assuming this weather doesn’t get any worse. Make a note on the calendar that we need to get the car fitted with snow tires. See you soon; I love you.” She flipped the phone shut and tossed it in the general direction of her bag before carefully pulling back into traffic.

Thankfully she didn’t experience any other hazards on the way home, though traffic barely moved faster than a crawl.The driveway had been conveniently shoveled as she pulled in; snow was piled past Sally’s knees as she made her way up the path to the front door. She wondered if maybe the neighbour boy a couple houses down has offered; Sally definitely would have paid him. Before she could lift the latch, the door swung open to reveal Une, smiling fondly at her exhausted partner. “Welcome home.” Une leaned in to press a gentle kiss to Sally’s mouth in greeting. The house was blissfully warm, smelling like the holidays and home.

“How was work?” Une asked.

Sally peeled off her work jacket, wandering down the hall to their bedroom to change into something a bit more relaxing. “Work was work,” she called towards the kitchen. “Today was lots of meetings and lots of paper work.” A moment later she emerged in a knit sweater with a sheep wearing a big red bow that read “Merry Christmaa-as.” “Oh, and let’s not forget the new recruits.” The two women shared a significant look.

“What’s the newest pod like?”

“Green.”

Une handed a mug to Sally across the island. “Drink this, it’ll help you relax. Then we can decorate the tree.” Sally took a deep drink from the mug, humming appreciatively as warmth settled into her stomach and spread out along her limbs. She reached across the counter and slipped her fingers through the other woman’s.

“My favourite.”

The tree that Une had chosen was positively massive. It took up a good quarter of their living space and was within inches of brushing the ceiling. Yet the fresh smell of pine filled the room and made it feel homey; it was their first official Christmas together, after all; Sally couldn’t blame Une for being a bit extravagant. As the sun disappeared behind the horizon, the two women worked at decorating the tree, wrapping string after string of lights along the branches, draping garland and hanging ornaments. “What are we going to do about the topper?” Sally asked. “There isn’t much room for anything.”

“It doesn’t need anything,” Une replied. “Let’s plug it in and appreciate our handiwork.”

The lights illuminated the tree from within, casting a rainbow of colour on the wall as they glinted off the bulbs. The effect was short lived, however, when simultaneously all the lights in the house went out. They stood in momentary silence before either said anything.

“Was that the tree?”

“That’s an awfully big power surge. Where’s the flashlight?”

“In the kitchen drawer where it usually is. I’ll light some candles.”

They moved about the house carefully in the dark, Sally lighting candles in the living room while Une went to check the breaker box. When she returned she looked out the front window at the neighbourhood; even the street lamps were dark. “Looks like the entire neighbourhood lost power. Must have been the heavy snowfall.”

The scenery beyond the house was oddly beautiful without the glaring light of the street lamps. The clouds from earlier in the day had dispersed and the sky was clear, stars twinkling visibly overhead. Une went to the front closet and grabbed a heavy jacket, returning to the living room to offer Sally one as well. “Come on.”

Stepping outside was almost magical. The snow had piled high in the time since Sally had arrived home, leaving deep untouched blankets of snow across the ground, the shrubs and their tender branches holding the flakes precariously. The air was crisp and free of the earlier chill; it was almost comfortable. Sally wrapped an arm around Une’s waist, pressing her face to the curve of her neck and breathing deep. Suddenly the stresses of work and impending visitors didn’t seem important anymore.

“Look,” she said, pointing at the sky. “You can see L3.” The colony shone brightly overhead, not quiet as bright as a satellite, but brighter than a star. It was nice to think that they could be so close to outer space without actually being there. Sally wrapped herself closer to the other woman.

“Let’s build a fire. We can make s’mores and hot chocolate and wrap presents.”

“How did I ever managed to end up with someone so practical?”

“I’m a simple woman.”

“You are far from simple, Sally Po.”

Returning inside the house, they gathering supplies by candle light from the kitchen before stoking a fire to life in the fireplace. The flames grew slowly, causing the decorated tree to cast unusual shapes and patterns on the walls and furniture. They didn’t talk beyond simple requests for marshmallows, chocolate, crackers, and other various items, instead enjoying the quiet of one another’s company, the warmth and the light of the fire casting a serene ambiance.

A moment of panic arose when Une’s marshmallow caught fire and they had difficulty blowing it out before sandwiching it between chocolate and graham crackers. The chocolate melted out over the sides and down Une’s fingers, which Sally took the liberty of cleaning thoroughly with her tongue. Une watched intently as her partner’s tongue dipped into the wells of her knuckles and between her fingers, breath catching in her chest.

When she finished, Une leaned in and kissed her, nibbling and sucking at Sally’s mouth. Sally returned the kiss in kind, threading her fingers through the find strands of Une’s hair and pulling her close. The sudden intensity found them falling back to the floor, where firm, insistent kisses turned slow and through. They made out lazily for some time, little more than the gentle press of mouths and tongues. The pressures of work and the pressures of the holidays had made time for intimacy difficult to come by. Sally moaned softly as Une’s hand brushed against her breast, and she pulled away, pushing a strand of Une’s loose hair behind her ear and smiling fondly. “I’ve missed you,” she admitted, “missed this.”  
Une smiled and kissed Sally again, settling down next to her on the carpet, arm laying across her stomach. “I miss you, too.”

The desire for more hovered between them, but Sally’s eyes were growing heavy with sleep. They fell silent, Sally’s breathing slowly evening out. As the fire begin to turn to embers, Une added a new log, stoking the flames back to life, before curling in next to Sally and falling asleep.

Une woke first, the morning coming with glowing Christmas lights, indicating that the power had come back on. The fireplace was heavy with ashes, and a quick look out the window showed that it had snowed again overnight. On her way to the kitchen, she noticed the blinking light on the answering machine that showed several messages. She decided to wait until Sally was awake to listen so she didn’t have to relay the information. Grinding some fresh beans, Une set out to make coffee.

It was no surprise to her when Sally wandered into the kitchen a few moments later, stretching her arms over her head and yawning widely. Une put a mug on the counter as Sally slumped onto one of the stools. “Morning.”

Sally took a sip of her coffee, sighed, and took another. “Morning,” she replied, rubbing a hand across her face.

“There are some messages on the machine. I thought I’d wait so we could listen together.” She went over and pressed play.

The first message was from Trowa and Quatre who said that they’d be running late because of a business meeting that Quatre couldn’t get out of, and that they would be there around late afternoon, before dinner. The second message was from Heero who said that his flight had been delayed due to snow and that he wasn’t sure when he would arrive. Next was Duo and Wufei who had both gotten snowed in at the airport. “Can’t even get to a hotel or anything!” The last message was from Noin who said she hoped they were enjoying the snow and that she and Zechs would arrive shortly after noon, assuming the streets were safe to get around on.

“Guess we should get ourselves ready for visitors, hmm?”

“The presents!” Sally said, eyes going wide. “We were going to wrap them last night and then we didn’t!”

Une smiled. “It’s only seven o’clock. We have lots of time to wrap presents. Finish your coffee. What do you feel like having for breakfast?”


End file.
